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Serious Sam 3: BFE | |
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Developer(s) | Croteam |
Publisher(s) | Devolver Digital |
Director(s) |
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Designer(s) |
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Programmer(s) | Alen Ladavac |
Artist(s) | Davor Hunski |
Writer(s) | Alen Ladavac |
Composer(s) | Damjan Mravunac |
Series | Serious Sam |
Engine | |
Platform(s) | |
Release | |
Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Serious Sam 3: BFE is a first-person shooter video game developed by Croatia-based indie development studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and the prequel to the 2001 video game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter . The game takes place in 22nd-century Egypt, during Mental's invasion of Earth, as implied in The First Encounter. The game features a 16-player online, as well as a 4-player splitscreen co-op campaign mode.
The game was first released for Microsoft Windows on 22 November 2011. [5] The OS X support for the game followed shortly after and was released on 23 April 2012. [6] The Linux version of the game started being worked on after a high number of requests, where the first Linux-related update was the porting of the game's dedicated server. [7] The game itself, however, was released one day after Valve opened the beta branch for "Steam for Linux", namely on 20 December 2012. [8]
Like previous titles in the series, Serious Sam 3: BFE involves fighting against many hordes of enemies in wide-open environments. However, Serious Sam 3 has more closed environments than its predecessors, particularly in the early levels. There are also a larger number of enemies that can attack the player from a distance.
There are 13 weapons in total, five of which have a manual reload. The signature close-combat weapons from the first game, the knife and chainsaw, have been replaced with a sledgehammer with three modes of attack.
In the style of old-fashioned first-person shooters, there is no regenerating health, instead, there are health and armor power-ups scattered throughout the levels that the player must pick up. Additionally, the levels are full of secret areas, where health, armor, ammo, and in some cases, weapons from later levels can be found, following the tradition of the previous games. Some weapons such as the Lasergun and the Sniper Rifle and their respective ammunition pickups are secret-only and otherwise are not found in the levels normally. There are no puzzles, however, the player must find keys, pull levers, and find environmental anomalies to progress.
Classic enemies such as the Beheaded Kamikaze, Beheaded Rocketeer and Kleer Skeleton return in the game. New ones include the Khnum and Scrapjack (resembling the Hell Knight and Mancubus from Doom , respectively), as well as the cloned soldiers reminiscent of the Strogg from the Quake series. The Kamikaze has returned to his original design, rather than the Serious Sam 2 design. The Gnaar's design has radically changed from the original game. It is now much larger, differently shaped, and walks on all fours, unlike its bipedal counterpart in the original.
Serious Sam 3 features some new gameplay mechanics such as sprinting and iron sights. Unlike most other FPS games that have sprinting, the player is able to sprint as much as they want, but they cannot attack while sprinting. The pistol and assault rifle have the ability to aim down sights, which increases accuracy but only slightly. The player moves slower while aiming down the sights, making it impractical at close range. The player can perform hand kills or kick enemies to conserve ammo, depending on the weapon selected. For example, a Gnaar's eyeball can be ripped out or an Antaresian Spider's shell can be broken.
Serious Sam 3: BFE serves as a prequel to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and depicts the events on Earth before Sam's journey into the past. Prior to AD 2060, humanity had slowly begun uncovering artifacts and ruins left behind in ancient times by the Sirians, the famous and long-thought extinct race from the planet Sirius. Unfortunately, Mental has chosen this time to turn his attention upon Earth. He dispatches his space fleet carrying his endless hordes to attack Earth, leading a three-year conquest that has humanity driven almost to the point of extinction. In a last-ditch effort, the survivors turn to the Time-Lock, a recently excavated device supposedly capable of granting a single person the ability of time travel via an inter-dimensional portal. Through it, that person could reach a pivotal point in time and alter events of the past. But as the device lies dormant, they must first discover a means to turn it on.
Sam "Serious" Stone, part of the Earth Defense Force, is dispatched with a detachment of soldiers in Alpha team to modern Egypt, which is occupied by Mental's alien army. Their original mission is to recon, rendezvous and extract Bravo team who are protecting Dr Stein, a scientist carrying hieroglyphics believed to contain instructions for powering up the Time-Lock. Sam's insertion goes haywire as his chopper is shot down and both teams are quickly wiped out. However, he is able to recover the hieroglyphics from Stein's phone in the museum and transmit them to headquarters. Deciphering indicates there is a hidden Sirian chamber below the Great Pyramid. Sam clears himself a path to a tunnel underneath the Sphinx and descends into the Pyramid. He not only discovers the hidden chamber, but recovers crucial information and a bracelet device from the remains of what might have been Earth's last Sirian.
In order to power the Time-Lock, two dormant but incredibly powerful plasma-energy generators need to be activated in Karnak and Luxor. Hellfire from Charlie team inserts Sam to bring both online. This is slowly accomplished and Team Charlie is staged to enter the Time-Lock. Sam is relieved of duty and in the process of being extracted from Luxor, but is shot down once again and is forced to flee towards the lost ruins of Nubia. Traversing through more tombs, Sam gets back in touch with Hellfire and learns that Mental's forces have overrun the human military and killed them all shortly before dying herself. Now determined to finish what the Sirians had started, Sam vows to use the Time-Lock himself and kill Mental in the past before he can destroy humanity in the present. Sam then makes one last travel to Hatshepsut Temple, where the Time-Lock is located. The struggle to this destination ends with Sam killing Ugh-Zan IV, the father of Ugh-Zan III from Serious Sam: The First Encounter. With Ugh-Zan IV dead, the Time-Lock then activates, displaying an inter-dimensional portal to 3000 B.C., the timeline where the Sirians became extinct. Sam calls Mental on Stein's phone and is answered by Mental's daughter, Judy. She tells him that Mental is planning to "moon" him. Sam notices the Moon plummeting rapidly within Earth's atmosphere and escapes through the Time-Lock to 3000 B.C. as the Moon impacts Earth, destroying the planet.
The game features Steamworks DRM and a complex system of custom checks as part of its copy protection system. If the game code detects what it believes to be an unauthorised copy, it alters gameplay to make play exceedingly difficult. An invincible arachnoid is spawned: this creature can charge at high speed, melee attack, and attacks from a range with twin chainguns. [9]
Before the release of Serious Sam 3: BFE, three indie games were announced to be in development. All were released around the time of Serious Sam 3's release.
If the user pre-ordered Serious Sam 3: BFE, they received Devolver Digital's CFO Fork Parker as a model for the game's multiplayer mode. Additionally, all "Serious Deluxe Edition" pre-orders included a copy of Serious Sam Classics: Revolution, which released into Steam Early Access in late 2014.
The "Gold Edition" of Serious Sam 3: BFE includes:
The "Serious Deluxe Edition" includes the "Gold Edition" content, along with the Fork Parker model, golden skins for the Fork Parker and Serious Sam models and both the original Serious Sam titles, The First Encounter and The Second Encounter .
A downloadable content pack titled Jewel of the Nile was released for the Windows and Mac versions of the game on 16 October 2012. [10] The DLC contains a new single-player campaign and competitive game modes for the game's multiplayer mode. New achievements are also included. Jewel of the Nile was released for Xbox 360 on 17 October 2012, together with the game itself. [11]
A virtual reality remake of the game titled Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE was released on 9 November 2017 for Windows and Linux. [12] [13]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | PC: 72/100 [14] X360: 63/100 [15] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 8.5/10 [16] |
Eurogamer | 7/10 [17] |
Game Informer | 7.75/10 [18] |
GameSpot | 6/10 [19] |
IGN | 7/10 [20] |
Serious Sam 3: BFE received "mixed or average" reviews. Eurogamer gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising it for what Duke Nukem Forever failed to deliver, however criticizing the redundancy of the title's gameplay compared to its previous iterations in the series. [17] Game Informer rewarded the game a score of 7.75 and praised the game for its graphics and the heavy metal score while being true to its original concept. [18] Destructoid gave it an 8.5, saying "It's a lot of fun indeed. A lot of backbreaking, grueling, soul-destroying fun." [16] Review aggregation website Metacritic gave the game a score of 72 out of 100 based on 53 reviews. [14]
Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront managed by Valve Corporation. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide game updates automatically for Valve's games and expanded to distributing third-party titles in late 2005. Steam offers various features, like game server matchmaking with Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) measures, social networking, and game streaming services. Steam client's functionality include game update automation, cloud storage for game progress, and community features such as direct messaging, in-game overlay and a virtual collectable marketplace.
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Serious Sam: The First Encounter is a 2001 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the first in the Serious Sam series. The game follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, who is sent back in time to ancient Egypt in 1378 BCE to uncover information about the technologically advanced civilisation of the Sirians that could help humanity survive the attacks of extraterrestrial forces in the 22nd century. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. During gameplay, the player can pick up new weapons and replenishment for ammunition and health, as well as review strategic information. In multiplayer, the game has two deathmatch modes and cooperative play for the single-player campaign.
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter is a 2002 first-person shooter game developed by Croteam and published by Gathering of Developers. It is the successor to Serious Sam: The First Encounter and the second game in the Serious Sam series. Taking place immediately after The First Encounter, it follows the soldier Sam "Serious" Stone, whose spaceship crashes back to Earth on his way from ancient Egypt to Sirius, requiring him to seek the Holy Grail to continue his journey. As Sam, the player traverses linear levels, either enclosed or set on open plains, and battles increasingly large waves of enemies with an expanding arsenal. The gameplay builds on that of The First Encounter while adding additional weapons, more enemy types, and platforming elements, and additionally contains the Seriously Warped Deathmatch mod by A Few Screws Loose.
Croteam is a Croatian video game developer based in Zagreb. The company was established by Davor Hunski, Damir Perović, Roman Ribarić and Dean Sekulić, four former classmates, in late August 1992. Croteam is best known for Serious Sam, a series of first-person shooters introduced with Serious Sam: The First Encounter in 2001. The company also developed the 2014 puzzle game The Talos Principle and its 2023 sequel The Talos Principle 2. Croteam employed approximately 40 people in 2020 and was acquired by its long-time publishing partner Devolver Digital in October that year.
Serious Sam 2 is a first-person shooter video game released for Windows and Xbox and the sequel to the 2002 video game Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. It was developed by Croteam and was released on 11 October 2005. The game was initially published by 2K Games, a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary. The game was later made available on Steam on 31 January 2012.
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Serious Sam Advance is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Climax London and published by Global Star Software for the Game Boy Advance. A spin-off in the Serious Sam series, the game has the player control Sam "Serious" Stone through confined levels—first in ancient Egypt, then in ancient Rome—defeating varying enemies using an assortment of weapons. Serious Sam Advance was developed by Climax London, a studio of former Crawfish Interactive developers, using ray casting technology. Global Star Software announced the game in January 2004 and released it in April. Serious Sam Advance received mixed reviews, with praise for its weapons, enemies, level design and sound effects, conflicting opinions about its graphics, and criticism for its controls and frame rate issues.
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Serious Sam: Next Encounter is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Climax Solent and published by Global Star Software. As a spin-off in the Serious Sam series, it follows Sam "Serious" Stone, who tracks an unidentified enemy through ancient Rome, feudal China and Atlantis, and eliminates the forces the enemy controls to eventually uncover their identity. The player controls Sam through enclosed levels, fighting waves of enemies with an assortment of weapons and, occasionally, vehicles. Defeating enemies is a prerequisite to advance in a level and killing twenty in rapid succession temporarily grants a strength, speed and score boost in a "Super Combo". Two players can complete the campaign cooperatively and up to eight can engage in versus modes.
Serious Sam is a video game series created and primarily developed by Croteam. It consists predominantly of first-person shooters. The series follows the advances of mercenary Sam "Serious" Stone against Mental, an extraterrestrial overlord who attempts to destroy humanity at various points in time. The first game, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, was released for Microsoft Windows in March 2001. Several spin-offs were developed by other developers, such as a Palm OS conversion of The First Encounter by InterActive Vision, Serious Sam: Next Encounter by Climax Solent, and Serious Sam Advance by Climax London. All three were published by Global Star Software.
Serious Sam: The Random Encounter is a 2011 role-playing and bullet hell game developed by Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital. It follows Sam "Serious" Stone travelling to the future in search of his nemesis, Mental, teaming up with mercenaries on the way. The player controls Sam and his accomplices through confined levels, engaging in battles through random encounters. These pit the player characters against large waves of enemies, and the player controls the weapons and items each character uses against them in five-second turns.
Serious Sam Double D is a 2011 side-scrolling shooter game developed by Mommy's Best Games and published by Devolver Digital. The game follows Sam "Serious" Stone traveling through various historical settings to destroy the horde of his nemesis, Mental, and its teleportation beacons. As Sam, the player navigates 2D levels and can use the "gun stacker" to create vertical stacks of up to six weapons that are fired simultaneously. Enemies appear from all sides and their corpses can be used as platforms.
Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack! is a 2011 auto-running game developed by Be-Rad Entertainment and published by Devolver Digital. The player controls a Headless Kamikaze that chases after Sam "Serious" Stone, attempting to defeat him. The character moves automatically and can dodge or deflect incoming hazards. Announced in March 2011 and developed over six months, Kamikaze Attack! was created as part of the Serious Sam Indie Series to promote the launch of Serious Sam 3: BFE. It debuted for Android and iOS in September 2011, followed by a release for Windows in January 2012. The game received a mixed reception, with praise for its controls, conflicting opinions about its visuals, and criticism for its repetitiveness and lack of appeal to non-fans of the Serious Sam series.
The Talos Principle is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was simultaneously released on Linux, OS X and Windows in December 2014. It was released for Android in May 2015, for PlayStation 4 in October 2015, for iOS in October 2017, for Xbox One in August 2018, and Nintendo Switch in December 2019. Virtual reality-enabled versions for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive were released on 18 October 2017. The downloadable content Road to Gehenna was released on 23 July 2015.
Serious Sam's Bogus Detour is a 2017 twin-stick shooter game developed by Crackshell and published by Devolver Digital. One to four players traverse levels set in Egypt, Greece, and on the Moon, collecting weapons to be used against waves of enemies placed throughout the open areas. Character upgrades can be purchased using stars, which can be found within levels or obtained through experience points gained by killing enemies. Deathmatch and survival modes can be played with up to twelve players.
I Hate Running Backwards is a 2018 shoot 'em up game developed by Binx Interactive and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players traverse procedurally generated levels using several characters, including Sam "Serious" Stone, the protagonist of the Serious Sam series. The screen scrolls vertically as the player character runs backwards through a partially destructible environment and battles enemies approaching from the bottom of the screen. The player can use two weapons, a melee attack, and an "ultimate" ability that requires the prior defeat of several enemies.
Serious Sam 4 is a 2020 first-person shooter developed by Croatian studio Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It is part of the Serious Sam series and a prequel to Serious Sam 3: BFE. The game was announced in April 2018, originally as Serious Sam 4: Planet Badass, was released in September 2020 for Microsoft Windows and Stadia, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S ports in December 2021. A standalone expansion, Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem, was released in January 2022.
Serious Sam: Tormental is a 2022 twin-stick shooter and rogue-lite game developed by Gungrounds and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players traverse procedurally generated levels across several stages set in the mind of Mental, the antagonist of the Serious Sam series. They use two weapons each, of which the primary weapon can be enhanced through "mods" found throughout the game. The unlockable player characters can perform dodge rolls and a unique special ability. Upon the player character's defeat, the player is reset to the start of the game. After completing all stages, the players can use black keys to unlock power-ups from a vault. The stages then loop with increasing difficulty.